


Together Somehow

by watermelonriddles



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, High School, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 04:51:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14663691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: The little bell above the door dinged as Alice walked into Pop’s. She spotted FP and Fred sitting at a booth not too far away. Before making her way over to them, she ordered herself a chocolate milkshake. She climbed over the back of FP’s seat and settled down beside him. He smiled at her as she sat with her back to the wall and threw her legs over his.“Hi, Alice,” he said.





	Together Somehow

**Author's Note:**

> So, I got a request on Tumblr asking if I could write a fic where Alice is jealous because FP has started dating someone (or something similar). Unfortunately, there's not as much fluff as was requested, but I hope this fic is satisfying enough regardless.
> 
> Alice is not a member of the Serpents at this point. She and FP are both 16 in this fic.

The little bell above the door dinged as Alice walked into Pop’s. She spotted FP and Fred sitting at a booth not too far away. Before making her way over to them, she ordered herself a chocolate milkshake. She climbed over the back of FP’s seat and settled down beside him. He smiled at her as she sat with her back to the wall and threw her legs over his.

“Hi, Alice,” he said.

“FP,” she said as she nicked the cherry from the top of his milkshake. As she ate it, she turned to Fred and smiled. “Hi.”

Fred returned her smile before eating his own cherry so she couldn’t steal it. “Hello, Alice.”

As her milkshake was brought over and set down on the table, Alice quickly said “thank you” before pulling it closer and eating the cherry before FP could steal it in retaliation.

He narrowed his eyes at her, “I’ll get you back, just you wait.”

“We’ll see.” Alice grinned. “Anyway, what are you two up to?”

“Just checking in,” Fred said.

She looked between them before her eyes settled on FP. “Yeah… How have things been since your old man…?”

“Threw me out?” FP said before taking a drink of his milkshake. “Fine. I’ve found somewhere else.”

“Yeah,” Fred said as he stirred the remains of his milkshake with his straw. “We were just talking about that.”

The silence that followed dragged far too long for Alice’s liking. She looked between them, hoping one of them would say something, but they didn’t.

“One of you needs to tell me what’s going on.”

She had barely finished her sentence when FP spoke, “I joined the Serpents.”

“Oh.”

Being from the Southside like FP, Alice knew a lot about the Serpents, but she never thought he would actually join them. She had noted the bruises and cuts on his face a few weeks back but she had never thought to say anything. He would never talk about it, and there seemed to no real cause for concern. Now it was clear it was to do with initiation.

“I was just saying that it might not be the best idea,” Fred said. “What do you think, Alice?”

She was so lost in her own thoughts that it was a moment before she could even begin to think of what to say, but it was a moment too long. FP looked between the two of them. Shaking his head in frustration, he got out of the booth.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow at school,” he said as he left.

Fred looked a little bewildered. Alice reached over and gently touched his hand, “I’ve got this.”

Without another word, Alice exited the booth and rushed to the door. She made it outside just as FP was climbing onto his bike. She stood in front of it, placing her hands over his.

“Get out of my way, Alice,” he said.

“Just wait a minute,” she said, tightening her grip to show that she wasn’t moving. “I’m sure Fred didn’t mean anything by it. We both know he cares.”

FP eyed her carefully. She wasn’t wrong. Fred was probably the nicest person either of them had ever met. “Maybe,” he admitted. “But you didn’t say anything.”

“I get it,” she reassured. “I might not know everything about the Serpents, but I know enough and I know you. I know you’ve thought about this, that you haven’t just jumped right in.”

“I’ve never had a family like the Serpents, they’ve got my back,” FP told her. “They’re really not that bad.”

Alice reached up and gently touched his face. “You don’t have to convince me. I just want you to know that Fred and I will just be happy that you’re okay.”

He nodded slightly before touching her hand with his. “I really got to go.”

With a small smile, Alice stepped away from his bike. FP gave her one last look before he drove off.

* * *

 

Throughout the weeks that followed, the three of them were inseparable. Fred explained that he the had only been concerned that FP might not have thought it through, but had realised very quickly how stupid that was. He had barely got an apology out when FP said there was nothing to forgive. Every day at school the three of them would find some time together, and after school, they would meet at Pop’s as often as they could. Now and then FP couldn’t make it, citing Serpent business as his reasoning, and Alice and Fred never questioned it. Occasionally their little group gained a member or two in the form of Hermione and Mary, the former who was dating Fred at the time.

During their time together, Alice and FP had grown closer and closer. He started taking her to and from school, and he even opened up about his life with the Serpents a little when they were alone. Although he never gave away too much detail, she could tell that he was happy and had finally found a home.

“So,” Fred said. “When are we going to make more music?”

He, FP, Alice, and Hermione were all sat on one of the picnic tables outside of the school. Hermione and Fed were on one side, he had his arm around her shoulders as she leaned into him, while FP and Alice sat on the other side.

“When you learn how to play better,” FP remarked.

“Like you would know what good music is,” Fred said as he threw a rolled up napkin at him.

The two of them laughed as FP caught it. “I’ve got some things to do tonight, but I should be able to spare an hour or so tomorrow.”

“Got plans with your little gang?” Hermione asked.

“Something like that,” FP said as he rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Why? You thinking of joining?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You couldn’t pay me to join.”

Alice reached under the table and squeezed FP’s leg before he could say anything more. Luckily, the school bell rang immediately after. As the four of them got up Alice and FP walked ahead. He put his arm around her shoulders.

“You should be nice,” Alice commented.

“Why?” FP asked. “She hates the fact that I’m a Serpent.”

“She just doesn’t understand.”

He looked down at her. “Since when were you her biggest fan?”

“I’m not, but we’ve been hanging out with her for a while and Fred really likes her,” Alice said.

“Yeah.” FP sighed. “I guess you’re right. Doesn’t mean I have to put up with her hating the Serpents.”

“I don’t know if it’s hate.”

They stopped just outside the school. He turned to her, reaching out to take her hand. “Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re okay with it, and Fred seems okay with it. At the very least you’re both letting me get on with it, and that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve always got your back.”

FP smiled before hugging her. As they pulled apart, he kissed her cheek. He slowly released her hand as began to walk away. “See you after the class?”

“Yeah,” Alice said. “See you after class.

* * *

 It was a week before they saw each other again. If FP wasn’t with the Serpents, he was spending time making music with Fred to make up for all the time missed. Even at school he and Alice hadn’t really seen each other. Despite sharing classes, unless they were paired up, they rarely got to speak. Whenever class was over, Alice barely got a minute alone with him, and at lunch, FP always seemed to disappear.

It wasn’t exactly disheartening, she knew he was busy, but when Monday rolled around and a new week began, Alice was eager for once to get to school so she could see him. Hopefully, this week would be a little lighter and the two of them could actually hang out one on one again. It surprised her how much she had missed him. They had grown so much closer as of late, that simply sharing a word with him here and there wasn't enough.

When she got to school she headed straight for their lockers. She and FP had lockers in the same corridor, just across from each other. She pushed through the crowd but when she was almost at there, she stopped dead.

FP was there with Fred, they were talking and laughing. Fred was leaning against the lockers, and FP had his arm around a girl that Alice only vaguely recognised. She was in a few of the classes, but Alice was sure that neither she nor FP had ever said a word to her before. For a moment, she considered approaching them but instead, she turned around and headed to class.

As the day went on, Alice stuck to herself but she seemed to constantly see FP and the girl together. Luckily, on a Monday, they only shared one class together. It was then that she found out the girl’s name was Lucy. It was a quiet class so Alice was able to stay in the background. It was mostly between classes that she spotted them together. FP would constantly have his arm around her, there was a lot of kissing too, more than Alice thought was possible. When it came to lunchtime she skipped, not having the stomach to sit at her usual table with the others.

Despite her feelings, Alice promised herself she wouldn’t say or do anything, it wasn’t her place. Joining the Serpents had made FP really happy and she loved that, so she didn’t want to be upset that there was something else making him happy too. Alice knew the company he kept shouldn’t bother her, she didn’t even know Lucy, but it did bother her. Regardless, she bit her tongue and got through the day without saying anything. She told herself that she would approach them tomorrow, introduce herself, and play nice.

That was the plan until she got to her locker at the end of the day. They were all stood the exact same way they had been that morning, only Hermione was there too. When she saw how FP laugh at something Lucy said, something in Alice just snapped.

“Oh, hey, Alice,” Fred said as she approached.

FP looked over the top of Lucy’s head at her. “Hey, where have you been? Skipping again?"

She knew by his tone that he was trying to be playful, but he was also being serious. It took her by surprise that he really hadn’t noticed her all day. Deep down she couldn’t blame him. In the one class they shared, he was clearly preoccupied and she had been avoiding him. But at that moment it hurt. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he had assumed she wasn’t in school or the fact that he seemed completely unconcerned by her possible absence.

Alice looked him up and down, not knowing what to do to get her anger out, she simply knocked the books he was carrying out of his hands. As they tumbled to the floor, Alice turned and walked away before any of them could anything. She pushed right through the crowd. It was only when she was outside that she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around, she was faced with FP. He must have followed her. At the very least, Alice was thankful that none of the others were with him.

“What was that?” he demanded, clearly angry.

“Unbelievable.”

His expression softened a little. “What is?”

“You’ve been absent for the past week,” Alice pointed out. “You show up with your arm around some random girl, you seem unconcerned that I might be absent, and I’m the one in the wrong.”

“You’ve skipped before,” he remarked. “There’s never been cause for concern before.”

“I wasn’t even absent!”

As Alice turned to leave, FP reached out for her. When she looked back at him, he raised his hands up defensively.

“Alright, I’m sorry. I guess I should have noticed. Is that what this is about?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Suddenly FP’s expression lightened as he crossed his arms. “Are you… Are you jealous?”

“Of _that_?” Alice asked, motioning towards the school. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Her name is Lucy,” FP said, a hint of anger in his voice again.

“I know her name.”

FP opened his mouth to say something but Alice was already walking away and this time he couldn’t stop her.

* * *

 Later that night, Alice sat alone in Pop’s. She had practically been climbing the walls at home, and she never thought she would run into FP at this time of night, but she was wrong. It was just as she was about to settle into her second milkshake that he came in. He sat in the booth behind her and reached over to steal the cherry from her drink.

“I said I would get you back,” he reminded with a smile as she looked back at him.

“I wasn’t jealous,” she said, looking away from him.

FP climbed over the seat to sit beside her. “Yes you were, and I just want to know why.”

“I don’t know,” Alice said as she stirred her milkshake. “Who is she anyway?”

“Just a girl from our year,” he said.

“She a Serpent?”

“No, but she doesn’t mind that I am,” FP told her. “We started talking not long after I joined. Everyone knew by that point and she was nice to me. We got to know each other a bit better. During the week I was busy we hung out more outside of school.”

“And now you’re dating,” Alice said, refusing to look at him.  
  
“Something like that, it was only casual.” He reached out and pulled her milkshake away so she might look at him, but she never did. “I ended things tonight.”

Alice finally looked at him. It made her feel guilty as hell that he might have done that because of her. “Why?”

“Not worth losing one of my best friends,” he said.

“You… You didn’t have to do that,” Alice said. “I don’t even know why I was that jealous. I guess I just missed you and then it was clear you’d been hanging around with her. She seems nice.”

“She is,” FP agreed.

“And I want to be her friend, especially if you really like her,” Alice continued. “So you should probably go and find her, make it up to her.”

“I don’t need to,” he said as he reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think there’s a Southside girl who is more fitting for me anyway.”

Before Alice could say anything, FP leaned over and kissed her. It was soft and only for a moment but once he pulled away, Alice moved closer. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. They had known each other for so long, but it had never crossed Alice’s mind that she and FP could be more than friends. After recent events, it had become abundantly clear to her that it didn’t matter how they were together, just so long as they were.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't normally do requests, but I've been feeling the urge to write more falice so this was fun to try :)


End file.
